The Time-Out Chair

I've been looking for some no nonsense chair for a time-out chair. About a month ago, I found these beauties in someone's gardbage. I circled back and snagged them for our time-out chairs. One man's trash is another's treasure.

Plain, small, collapsible, easy to move (downstairs, out back, etc) and kind of cute, too. And, free. What?? Perfect for us.

I know, I know. Surely Daredevil doesn't ever need a time-out chair. I'll admit, it is fairly rare but he does occasionally need it.

However, since Gammy and Grandpa arrived I think he's forgotten what the time-out chair is actually for.

Oh boy! This kid is something else.

Here are some of the things we've been working on this week....

Sweets

Cuteness

Independence

Crispidity

Brights

More to come. Have a great weekend!

My Love List

Good morning! Daredevil slept 12.5 hours in his own bed!!!!! What?!?!? That is pure awesomesauce right there. Since I LOVE that he did that, here are some of my top items on my love list right now...

The best transition nail color for the last days of summer.

Crunchy thai quinoa salad.

Katie Daisy. She is everywhere! I keep getting bombarded with awesomeness at Target, Half Price Books, etc! So fun to spy her stuff in mainstream big box stores.

Gorgeous-hued succulents.

Fresh Farmer's Market Flowers.

Taffy from Gatlinburg.

What's on your love list for the moment?

Recap

Still attempting to run... still can't run past 3 minutes at a time.... slow going but at least I'm going. My asthma flared up so I had to scale back for a bit. Phin got to go with me a few times this week, too. He did great... I'm still surprised!

When does running get easier??

We fit in some play time at the park last weekend, too.

Where's Uncle N?

Peek-a-boo!

I've been working on getting my yard in order now that it's dry outside (except today... rain, again!). Flower boxes done, lillies planted, hostas planted, ferns up, stars back up, flag up, chairs out, etc. Next up is mulching and chopping down dead trees, bushes, shrubs (I already dug out two). Weed Man will be here next week.

Still reading... currently reading four books... Looking for Alaska, Interrupted, Between the Lines and Bossypants. I never do this but somehow now I have. I need to knock them out. I have a list stack a mile long of books to be read. That is NOT INCLUDING my book club books.

Our garden opens May 22nd... can't come soon enough. My tomato starts have been ordered and everything else is just waiting... and waiting and waiting... I can't wait!

I've grabbed some awesome yard sale/thrift finds lately. I found a Learning Tower for Daredevil. I don't know what we did without it. He loves it and I love that he can really help me clean veggies, stir water, make dinner, etc. I also found a kangaroo climber that I attempted to spray paint. I picked a light color to paint it. Not my smartest moment. I've spent more on paint than the climber but I'm about to call it good. Daredevil isn't going to care. I also found a wagon that we can use in the back yard to play in and then pick up our outdoor toys. Good thrifting lately.

Before

Now

Daredevil does not enjoy learning rules and boundaries. Like holding hands with an adult while walking. It's an uphill and constant battle. His new trick is trying to bite my hand off when I'm holding his hand.

Lots of bruises, bumps and scuffed knees right now. I never want to forget his first scraped knee. Gosh, I love these chunky legs.

Hipster. 'Nuff said.

Photo Wall Display -- Update!

Remember these? They hang in our living room displaying our beautiful little ones in our life...

Little ones grow and change so fast, so I thought it was time for some new pictures! Here are the ones we chose!

Now my photo display looks like this! (Sorry it's so dark!)

Precious!!

Mother's Day Ideas!

If anyone is scrambling for a last minute Mother's Day idea, here are a few great ideas that are quick and easy! You still have time to show the mom(s) in your life how special they are!!!

Moms always love breakfast in bed, but this one is extra sweet. Enjoy the free printable!

Crafty moms will love this gift! What a fun way for a gift to keep on giving?!

You can't go wrong with fresh flowers from the yard or a grocery store either. This would be a perfect addition for those fresh flowers. Simply plop a picture of the family in the front and you're on your way!

For moms that love pictures (like my best friend), this could be an easy but great and inexpensive way to showcase some new family pictures! Pictures as gifts... moms love 'em!

My best suggestion is to do something with them that they love... a walk in the park, shopping, lunch at her favorite restaurant, a day in the garden, mani/pedi, garage saleing or thrifting, etc. Think beyond a traditional gift to a special memory that you could create by taking time to do something with your mom that your mom loves to do. The best gifts aren't necessarily the most expensive.

Have a great day!

What's in your fridge?

I love 20x200. Don't know what 20x200 is? It's an art project; making great art affordable to the masses. There are 200 prints of each piece for $20 until they run out. They have other sizes as well if you fall in love with a certain piece.

While I was browsing the new art, I stumbled upon an art project by Mark Menjivar that I found fascinating! You Are What You Eat looks inside your refrigerator to expose a part of your life. It's intimate, it's fascinating, it's real and it's honest. I am addicted to these!

Midwife/Middle School Science Teacher | San Antonio, TX | 3-Person Household (including dog) | First week after deciding to eat locally grown vegetables. by Mark Menjivar

Bar Tender | San Antonio, TX | 1-Person Household | Goes to sleep at 8AM and wakes up at 4PM daily.
by Mark Menjivar

 You can purchase these two from 20x200... here and here. You can see his whole collection here. Please note the dead/frozen snake in the freezer from image #6. Fascinating!

Anyway, in the effort of being real and honest, here are some shots from my fridge!

Event Planner & IT Guy/ Madison, WI/ 6-person household (including 3 dogs)

 

 

So, what's in your fridge?

New Eyeglasses!

J and I always like to buy new eyeglasses toward the end of the year once we know how much we're going to have left in our FSA account.

I love inexpensive, fashionable glasses that are still good quality and J loves the bargain aspect of it. If you haven't ever heard of Zenni and you wear eyeglasses, this could change your life. Or, at least you'll never EVER buy from your eye doctor again. My glasses because I have a standard prescription are usually $9.95 per pair -- without insurance -- that's it! Jared's usually get up to $20 or so because he has a stronger prescription that requires rolling the lenses and whatnot, but I'll take it. In high school his glasses used to cost at least $400 a pair.

When I was looking into glasses recently, I noticed that they had re-done their site. Now you can upload a photo of yourself and "try on" the glasses you like.

 

I had so much fun with the new feature!! Clever!

I can't wait for my new glasses to arrive. I bought a pink pair to wear when I'm up late crafting. Just looking at them gets me in the mood to sew or craft!

Best of Indiana -- Kokomo Version

On our trip through Indiana, we had to make a quick pit stop in Kokomo. During the pit stop, we decided we should order Gabe's to pick up en route to my sister's house. Here is Jared at the counter waiting on our delicious, hot cheese pizza (yes, cheese...you have to have Gabe's when you're in Kokomo).

If you are ever near the intersection of Center Rd and US31 you MUST, I repeat, MUST, get an XL black raspberry sprite from Mac's. Jared swears by their XL diet vanilla cokes. Either way, you can't go wrong. Trust me!

Until December 10th, I'll be missing you! I'm already planning that trip.... Gabe's, Mac's, We Care Park, Highland Park, etc.

Best of Indiana -- Knox Version

On our tour of the "homeland" last weekend, we got to sample the best of Indiana. I would like to share some of that with you in case you ever find yourself in North/Central Indiana with nothing to do!

Today's installment highlights Knox, Indiana.

Knox, IN, is where my best friend lives and I look forward to going there not only to see her and her family, but to shop! There are three stores all along the same stretch of road that just warm my heart -- Bailey's, Richards of Toto and GrandPause Farm. I only get to go about 2 times each year so I really look forward to my outings there.

Bailey's and Richards are bargain centers... think Big Lots on steroids. Bailey's is much larger (think a Sam's or Super WalMart) and you can find everything from the kitchen sink to food and candy to clothes. Richards is smaller but tends to have more decor than Bailey's. I love them both and couldn't possibly pick a favorite!

Here we are at Bailey's!

Outside of Richards is this Native American statue. He is huge and the sun was glaring so this is the best shot I could get.

At Richards, they have a restaurant attached that we love to have breakfast at. Here is Jared's favorite breakfast there... cinnamon swirl toast. It is quite good!

Here is the outside of Richards... nothing fancy but behind those doors! Oh my! Heather insists that if I lived there it would lose its luster.

GrandPause Farm is a little store tucked in the front yard of the owner's home. It has candles, crafts and homemade muffins that are out of this world. I always buy a muffin, a candle and make a donation to the local animal shelter at GrandPause. J just knows that this is part of my Knox routine!

Here is the cute exterior.

And the fantastic blueberry, oatmeal muffins. This time I picked up one for me and one for my sister.

I can't believe that the next time I'm probably going to get to shop here is in March when Baby Aiden will be entering this world! Can't wait!

Hosting, hosting, hosting

Not only am I hosting the gender reveal party this week, I'm also working on a baby shower for a friend who is expecting her first child, a little girl, on December 26th!

I've gotten the invitations out, the decorations prepped and everything is set in motion but I'm worried about what to get her. She's already had a shower back home in Michigan so a lot of her registry has been bought out. She isn't doing a theme, just an eclectic mix of all things light and bright pink, teal and bright green with a hint of purple thrown in.

I've thought about painting name "letters" but since I'm making a banner in the same type of way, I opted out of that. I also thought about matting and framing some super cute little baby artwork but decided it may or may not go with her decor so I probably shouldn't. Then I thought of using the letters (like in the anniversary gift) and making a sign for the room some where, but am afraid that it, too, won't fit in. Thought about making a blanket but don't a lot of people do that? I think I'm just over-thinking this. I'll probably end up with something really practical like bottles or baby medicine. Who knows, maybe I'll be run over with inspiration and I'll know just what to craft or buy.

Secretly, I want to buy her this...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/snugars

 or this...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GraciousMay

 Maybe I just will! Or maybe I'll try my own re-creation of the hair bow.

31 Days of Blogging

This month, for 31 days, several bloggers are doing a series of posts on all sorts of topics. I'm anxious to check out a few of them, but felt that I should post them all in case something appeals to you.

Happy Reading!

:: 31 Days to Stress-Free Entertaining from Sandy at The Reluctant Entertainer
:: 31 Days to a Less Messy Nest at The Nester
:: 31 Days to a Better Photo from Darcy at Life With My 3 Boybarians
:: 31 Days to More with Less from Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
:: 31 Days of Autumn Bliss from Melissa at The Inspired Room
:: 31 Days of Living Simply from Emily at Remodeling This Life
:: 31 Days to an Inspired Table from Kendra at My First Kitchen
:: 31 Days of Grace from Emily at Chatting at the Sky

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you!